Alcohol abuse means having unhealthy or dangerous drinking habits, such as drinking every day or drinking too much at a time. Alcohol abuse can harm your relationships, cause you to miss work, and lead to legal problems such as driving while drunk ( intoxicated). When you abuse alcohol, you continue to drink even though you know your drinking is causing problems.

If you continue to abuse alcohol, it can lead to alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence is also called alcoholism. You are physically or mentally addicted to alcohol. You have a strong need, or craving, to drink. You feel like you must drink just to get by.

You might be dependent on alcohol if you have three or more of the following problems in a year:

You cannot quit drinking or control how much you drink.

You need to drink more to get the same effect.

You have withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking. These include feeling sick to your stomach, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety.

You spend a lot of time drinking and recovering from drinking, or you have given up other activities so you can drink.

You have tried to quit drinking or to cut back the amount you drink but haven't been able to.

You continue to drink even though it harms your relationships and causes you to develop physical problems.

You might not realize that you have a drinking problem. You might not drink every day, or you might not drink large amounts when you drink. You might go for days or weeks between drinking episodes. You might say you're a "social drinker."

But even if you don't drink very often, it's still possible to be abusing alcohol and to be at risk for becoming addicted to it.

Symptoms of alcohol abuse in children and teens sometimes are different from adult symptoms.

Signs of alcohol abuse

Watch for the following signs of alcohol abuse:

You have problems at work or school because of your drinking. These may include being late or absent, being injured at work, and not doing your job or schoolwork as well as you can.

You drink in dangerous situations, such as before or while driving a car.

You have blackouts. This means that after a drinking episode you cannot remember what happened while you were drinking.

You have legal problems because of your drinking, such as being arrested for harming someone or driving while drunk (intoxicated).

You get hurt or you hurt someone else when you are drinking.

You continue to drink despite health problems that are caused or made worse by alcohol use, such as liver disease (cirrhosis).

Your friends or family members are worried about your drinking.

Signs of alcohol dependence or addiction

Watch for the following signs of alcohol dependence or addiction:

You cannot quit drinking or control how much you drink. You drink more often than you want to, or you drink larger amounts than you want to.

You need to drink more to get the same effect.

You have withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking. These include feeling sick to your stomach, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety.

You spend a lot of time drinking and recovering from drinking, or you have given up other activities so you can drink.

You have tried unsuccessfully to quit drinking or to cut back the amount you drink.

You continue to drink even though it harms your relationships and causes you to develop physical problems.

Other signs of possible trouble with alcohol include the following:

You drink in the morning, are drunk often for long periods of time, or drink alone.

You change what you drink, such as switching from beer to wine because you think that doing this will help you drink less or keep you from getting drunk.

You feel guilty after drinking.

You make excuses for your drinking or do things to hide your drinking, such as buying alcohol at different stores.

You worry that you won't get enough alcohol for an evening or weekend.

You have physical signs of alcohol dependence, such as weight loss, a sore or upset stomach(gastritis), or redness of the nose and cheeks.